Sunday 26 December 2010
Cyprus - Kiti - Angeloctistos Church
The main part of Panagia Angeloktisti, which literally means "Our Lady built by the angels" in Greek, dates from the 11th century and still serves as a working church for the busy village. During our visit, locals from various walks of life - an old lady dressed head to toe in black, a construction worker from the building site down the road and a dentist from across the street taking a break from drilling teeth - all stopped in to offer up a quick prayer and kiss an icon or two. It's nice to see such a venerable old building still in active use.
The church was built on and around the remains of a 6th century Christian basilica, the apse of which - and the fabulous mosaic of the Virgin Mary which serves as its stunning centerpiece - still survive today. Intriguingly, the mosaic was only "discovered" in 1952 during renovations. The original construction has clearly been added to and sympathetically restored in parts, and the standard is such that you can hardly differentiate between the ancient and the relatively new.
Saturday 25 December 2010
Japan - Maiko
Maiko is an apprentice geiko. Their jobs are performing song, dance, and shamisen (three-stringed Japanese instrument) to visitors at a feast. Maiko are from 15 years old to 20 years old, and they can be geiko after learning how to dance (a kind of Japanese traditional dance), play the shamisen, and they also learn Kyō-kotoba (dialect of Kyoto), regardless of where they are from.
Switzerland - Sion
Sion is the capital of the Swiss canton of Valais.
It takes its name from the Latin word Sedunum, itself derived from the celtic tribe that lived there, the Seduni. It was occupied by the Romans with the rest of the surrounding area in the first century BCE. The town-hall is said to contain several Roman inscriptions, one of which found at Sion memorializes the Roman presence: Civitas Sedunorum Patrono. The Roman Catholic diocese of Sion is the oldest in Switzerland and one of the oldest north of the Alps.
Sion lost to Turin, Italy in its bid to host the 2006 Winter Olympics. Sion also bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics, which it lost to Salt Lake City, and the 1976 Winter Olympics, which it lost to Denver (the games were re-assigned to Innsbruck when Denver residents voted down additional funding).
Switzerland - Bern
Berne is the capital of Switzerland, a diverse and beautiful city! It is a medieval city founded in 1191, on and around the River Aare and has quite a few attractions and historic sites, as well as an active cultural life. It is here that Albert Einstein worked, the Toblerone chocolate bar is made, and Emmental cheese, known as Swiss Cheese, reached out to the world.
With its stately sandstone buildings, historical towers and 11 magnificent fountains, Berne is one the most impressive examples of medieval town architecture in Europe. Over the centuries, the townscape has been preserved virtually intact, and in 1983 the UNESCO inscribed Berne as a World Heritage Site. The noble dome of the House of Parliament presides above the city, just a few steps from the main station, and also from the Aare River, the Prison Tower and all the other places of interest in Berne. On most days, the doors of the House of Parliament are open to the public with visitors permitted to watch the live proceedings of the parliament.
Switzerland - Aletsch
The Aletsch Glacier or Great Aletsch Glacier is the largest glacier in the Alps. It has a length of about 23 km and covers more than 120 square kilometers (more than 45 square miles) in the eastern Bernese Alps in the Swiss canton of Valais. The Aletsch Glacier is composed by three smaller glaciers converging at Concordia, where its thickness is estimated to be near 1 km. It then continues towards the Rhone valley before giving birth to the Massa river.
The whole area, including other glaciers is part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch Protected Area, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001.
USA - Florida - Singing Tower at Lake Wales
The Singing Tower is the centerpiece of the Bok Tower Gardens. The tower was built at the highest elevation of the site, south of a reflection pool that allows the water to reflect its full image. A 60-bell carillon set within the 205-foot (62 m) tall, Gothic Revival and Art Deco tower that was designed by architect Milton B. Medary. Construction on the tower began in 1927 and was completed for the dedication of the gardens in 1929, when it was dedicated by President Calvin Coolidge. The tower is 51 feet (16 m) square at its base, changing form at 150 feet (46 m) high to an octagon with 37 feet (11 m) sides that include sculptures designed by Lee Lawrie. The tower is surrounded by a 15-foot (4.6 m) moat that serves as a Koi pond. It is built of pink Etowah marble and gray Creole marble, mined in Tate, Georgia, and Florida native coquina stone, from Daytona Beach, Florida.
Although the tower's interior is not open to the public, it contains the Anton Brees Carillon Library, said to be the largest carillon library in the world.
Friday 24 December 2010
Canada - Alberta Cree Indian
The Cree are the largest group of First Nations in Canada, with over 200,000 members and 135 registered bands. This large population may be a result of the Crees' traditional openness to inter-tribal marriage. Together, their reserve lands are the largest of any First Nations group in the country. The largest Cree band and the second largest First Nations Band in Canada after the Six Nations Iroquois is the Lac La Ronge Band in northern Saskatchewan.
Sunday 19 December 2010
China - Qingdao - Old postcards
Qingdao (青岛; 青島; QīngDǎo; TsingTao) is a picturesque coastal city that lies on the southern tip of China's Shandong Peninsula, located in JiaoZhou Bay facing the Yellow Sea. Qingdao is also a well-known holiday resort in China.
Before troops were garrisoned here by the imperial court of Qing in 1891, Qingdao had been a small fishing village. It became a German concession in 1897 and was occupied by invading Japanese soldiers when the First World War broke out in 1914. The famous May 4th Movement was launched in 1919 and protesters, against the then Chinese government yielding to Japanese pressure, demanded the recommencement of sovereignty over Qingdao. The city reverted to Chinese rule in 1922, but was occupied by Japan again during the Second World War. After World War II Qingdao served as the headquarters of the Western Pacific Fleet of the US Navy. The USS Alaska, allowed by the KMT, occupied Tsingtao, China in October 1945. On June 2nd, 1949, the CCP's Red Army entered Qingdao City; Shandong and Qingdao's municipalities have been under PRC control since that time.
As one of China's most important independent coastal cities with state planning and budgeting powers including provincial power in economic management, the city has recently experienced rapid growth.
Qingdao is well known for its European architecture and attractive coastal landscape.
With its abundance of natural beauty and growing human resources, the year-round schedule of tourist attractions and events, coupled with numerous tourist facilities as well as an extensive public transportation network, make Qingdao an ideal tourist destination both at home and abroad.
In 2008, Qingdao hosted the Sailing Regattas of the 29th Olympic Games as well as the 13th Paralympic Games and in 2009 welcomed sailors from the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR 2008-2009). In February-March 2010 Qingdao will once again welcome the sailors of the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race.
Before troops were garrisoned here by the imperial court of Qing in 1891, Qingdao had been a small fishing village. It became a German concession in 1897 and was occupied by invading Japanese soldiers when the First World War broke out in 1914. The famous May 4th Movement was launched in 1919 and protesters, against the then Chinese government yielding to Japanese pressure, demanded the recommencement of sovereignty over Qingdao. The city reverted to Chinese rule in 1922, but was occupied by Japan again during the Second World War. After World War II Qingdao served as the headquarters of the Western Pacific Fleet of the US Navy. The USS Alaska, allowed by the KMT, occupied Tsingtao, China in October 1945. On June 2nd, 1949, the CCP's Red Army entered Qingdao City; Shandong and Qingdao's municipalities have been under PRC control since that time.
As one of China's most important independent coastal cities with state planning and budgeting powers including provincial power in economic management, the city has recently experienced rapid growth.
Qingdao is well known for its European architecture and attractive coastal landscape.
With its abundance of natural beauty and growing human resources, the year-round schedule of tourist attractions and events, coupled with numerous tourist facilities as well as an extensive public transportation network, make Qingdao an ideal tourist destination both at home and abroad.
In 2008, Qingdao hosted the Sailing Regattas of the 29th Olympic Games as well as the 13th Paralympic Games and in 2009 welcomed sailors from the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR 2008-2009). In February-March 2010 Qingdao will once again welcome the sailors of the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race.
Slovenia - Celje - Old postcards
Where the Voglajna joins the Savinja River as it turns abruptly south toward the Sava, we find Celje, the third largest city in Slovenia. Its cultural legacy testifies to rich and turbulent centuries.
Originally "Keleia", a Celtic settlement where Noricum coins were minted, in the period of Emperor Claudius it developed as "Celeia" into the most important Roman borough and a most important economic and military center. Celje became the capital of a principality when the Counts of Celje were elevated to the status of princes in 1436. Allied with the German Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg, they struggled ever more bitterly ther Hapsburgs for political supremacy in Central Europe. When Count Ulrik II was assassinated in Belgrade by his Hugarian rivals in 1456, the cry "the Counts of Celje today and never again" marked the end of their dynasty and the city came under Hapsburg rule.
Celje defied natural disasters and enemies such as floods and the Turks and continued to develop its flourishing trade and commerce to strengthen its position as one of the most important cities in Lower Styria. The railway brought industrialization in 1846, which marked the end of the old times and the transition into a new exciting century in which Celje became a city with a lively cultural and tourist beat, a highly developed social life, a commercial, trade and fair center, and attractive surroundings.
Wednesday 15 December 2010
France - Paris
Paris the capital and largest city in France, is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Ile-de-France region (or Paris Region).
Paris is acknowledged for its classy food and great fashion sense. It is also known as the City of Lights and now considered as one of the most well-liked tourist destination in the world nowadays.
United Kingdom - London - Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of Britain's sovereigns since 1837 and today is the administrative headquarters of the Monarch.
Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms. These include 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. In measurements, the building is 108 meters long across the front, 120 meters deep (including the central quadrangle) and 24 meters high.
Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms. These include 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. In measurements, the building is 108 meters long across the front, 120 meters deep (including the central quadrangle) and 24 meters high.
USA - Boston
Boston is the capital and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States.
With many colleges and universities within the city and surrounding area, Boston is a center of higher education and a center for medicine. The city's economy is also based on research, electronics, engineering, finance, and high technology—principally biotechnology.
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